Like other dog owners SPRINGER's inventor, a Norwegian immigrant, Sven Arntzen, wanted to give his dog all the exercise and physical activity it longed for and needed. But although a fairly good athlete, Sven soon realized that when it came to running, he was no match for his strong German Shepard. So he asked his vet and the breeder of the dog for advice and was urged to bring his dog along on bike rides, which he did.
Dogs have no regard for a biker's safety, and go their own way without warning, if they see or smell something interesting along the trail. Leash in hand and the hands on the handlebars, it did not take long before Sven lay flat on the ground, with bruised knees and hands. A couple of incidents like that and he could not take it anymore.
But instead of giving up biking with his dog, Sven became determined to do something about the problem. He decided to construct, just for his own personal use, a bicycle attachment for his dog. One of his best friends owned a welding company and had often let Sven use the welding shop during the weekends. So the following Saturday Sven brought his sketches and went to work.
It didn't take long for him to figure out that whatever 'gadget' he came up with, it had to keep the dog's leash away from his hands and the handlebars. Some flexibility, like a spring, would of course be excellent too. Also, the lower the point of impact, when his dog unexpectedly tugged away the less chance of himself taking a spill. But he didn't want the leash to sag around the dog's feet, and there was the bike's pedal to contend with.
It became more and more apparent why among millions of biking dog owners, none had come up with a safe and comfortable means of enjoying this wonderful and excellent form of recreation. However, we are not pretending that Sven's invention is one of life's great accomplishments, by making a big deal out of it. So let us simply state that after some 'trial and error' "SPRINGER" emerged. Once the prototype was there, it was all obvious:
- An attachment clamp fits most standard bike frames, directly underneath the seat, near the center of gravity.
- A strong tubing brings the all important coil spring out, away from the biker's leg and pedal area, and lower to the ground, reducing the torque of the dog's tugs.
- A small extension, like a short 'mast' on the top of the low mounted coil-spring, lets the leash approach the dog from above, hence keeping the leash clear of the dog's paws.
Anxiously Sven mounted the prototype to his bike, attached his dog and set out on the first "SPRINGER" test run! From the very start his dog loved it, comfortably, almost cockily, trotting alongside the bike. But suddenly came the big test, the neighbor's angry male rottweiler was out walking with its Master!
"Uh-oh, what now?", Sven thought, but there was no time for turning back. His dog charged to the side, but to his enormous surprise he had no difficulty at all in keeping his balance. With his SPRINGER equipped bike he gently pulled his dog along, and in less than two seconds, Sven's dog seemed to have lost all interest in his adversary, and was trotting along happily unaffected by the recent dramatic incident.
The eyes of his neighbor almost popped out of his head. He had expected to see Sven sailing through the air, as the two string dogs were about to clash. So, when they met later that afternoon, Sven had to show him SPRINGER and let him try it with his rottweiler, with which the neighbor had long ago given up biking. After a few minutes they returned.
"This -ehh -'THING' is fantastic! -absolutely unbelievable", the neighbor exclaimed. "It felt just like biking alone. And my dog loved it and took to it immediately. Sven, you have to make one for me too, I don't care what it costs!" One could see that eh neighbor was thinking about something. Then suddenly he revealed what it was. "Sven, do you know what you should do?", he asked. "You should patent it and start to manufacture them. I bet every dog owner would love to have one!"
To make a long story short, he patented his invention, then founded SPRINGER, Inc., with his friend who owned the welding shop. SPRINGER was developed with the guidance from several vets, breeders, trainers and official traffic safety experts that were consulted for advice and asked to test SPRINGER during its development. When they were convinced that SPRINGER was close to perfect, they built a factory and began production and marketing of SPRINGER in Norway.
SPRINGER became an immediate success. A leading marketer explained it this way:
"SPRINGER is the right product at the right time and the right price. SPRINGER possesses many properties that are important to people today: it promotes exercise and fitness; togetherness with a pet; getting outdoors; families sharing activities together; enjoying already existing things (dogs and bikes) with only a small added investment (SPRINGER)".
So they extended to 14 different European countries, and now the time has come to introduce SPRINGER to the dog owners in the U.S.A.
